Songbird Airways, Inc., established as Sky King, was a

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

based in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. As ''Sky King'', it operated flights from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

on behalf of Customer Service Providers (CSPs). Sky King also conducted flights of deportees to undisclosed destinations on behalf of

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

(ICE). In the past, the airline provided charter service to sports teams and businesses using

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

aircraft sporting various seat configurations. The airline filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wh ...

on March 9, 2010, after it was unable to meet the payment demands of one of its largest creditors, fuel supplier Mercury Air Group.

History

The airline began operations in July 1990 as a privately held company to fly for the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. Initially, the company provided service for the Kansas City Kings in a single

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

under FAR-125. In 2002, Sky King received its FAR-121 certificate and 98% of the company's flying was for hockey teams. A series of events in 2005, including the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

lockout, the devastation of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, and the spike in jet fuel prices required Sky King to find an alternate way of running its business. This resulted in the adoption of the ACMI (Aircraft Crew Maintenance and Insurance) model and a partnership with Gold Transportation was forged. In March 2010, Sky King filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy protection. Sky King emerged from this

bankruptcy in June 2011. Following a successful reorganization in June 2010, the airline moved its headquarters from Sacramento, California to Lakeland, Florida. By moving to Lakeland, Sky King was able to reduce its maintenance costs (by eliminating cross-country ferry flights) and focus on expanding the East Coast markets it served. In October 2010, Sky King was purchased by Aviation Capital Partners Group and shifted its focus away from private charters and towards providing scheduled services. At the end of 2010, Sky King had over 270 employees. At the end of August 2012, Sky King returned three aircraft to its owner, AerSale, in Roswell, NM. At the same time, Sky King again filed for

bankruptcy protection and laid off over 20 pilots, 30 flight attendants, and others in operations, maintenance, and the Lakeland office. In December 2013, Sky King furloughed/laid off nearly half of its staff across all departments and returned one airplane to the leasing company. As of December 31, 2013, Sky King had two airplanes in its fleet, one of which had been grounded for several months with a bad engine that needed to be replaced. Also in December, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement revealed that Sky King owed $23,424.26 in taxes to New Jersey from 2009, thus prohibited from doing air charter business with

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

casinos. Sky King emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 3, 2014, upon confirmation by the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Trustee's Plan of Reorganization. Sky King was acquired by AerLine Holdings LLC on October 24, 2014. Sky King was acquired by AerLine Holdings LLC on October 24, 2014. Service was resumed on December 22, 2014, after the United States Department of Transportation found the carrier "fit, willing and able" to resume service with up to ten aircraft. On August 30, 2017, Songbird entered into an agreement with

USGlobal Airways USGlobal Airways, formerly known as Baltia Air Lines, Inc., was a publicly traded American corporation. It was founded in August 1989 with the aim of flying from New York City to the then-Soviet Union. It never flew a single commercial flight in ...

for the purchase of Songbird's stock for $6.5 million with a closing date of October 15, 2017. On November 30, 2017, USGlobal Airways issued a press release stating that their agreement to purchase Songbird had been terminated as it was not the "best decision for the company".

Other services

Direct Air

From March until May 2007, Sky King operated a single aircraft for

Direct Air Southern Sky Air Tours, d/b/a Direct Air was an airline business based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States. Direct Air started in 2007 and leased aircraft with charter airlines. Its main base was Myrtle Beach International Airport. Direc ...

. In early 2011, Sky King teamed up again with Direct Air and flew two aircraft for the company. Depending on the season, the flying switched from Palm Beach International Airport (during summer), Myrtle Beach (during winter), Punta Gorda (during fall), and Lakeland (year-round).

abruptly ceased operations on March 13, 2012.

Cuban charters

Sky King provided charter aircraft to numerous touring agencies with flights into

. Flights to Cuba originated from

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. The majority of the flights into Cuba were to Cienfuegos, Havana, Camaguey, Holguin, and Santiago de Cuba.

Fly Guam

In early spring 2011, Sky King agreed to provide ACMI service to start-up company Fly Guam, flying a single

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

. Initially, the company operated flights out of Guam to Saipan, continuing to Hong Kong. In the coming months, the company opened routes to Nagoya, Japan, and Koror, Palau. In November 2011, Sky King's parent company Aviation Capital Partners Group purchased a 51% stake. Fly Guam ceased operations at the end of 2011.

Fleet

The airline previously operated the following the aircraft:

References

External links

Sky King aircraft
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Airlines established in 1990 Airlines disestablished in 2017 Airlines based in Florida 1990 establishments in Florida Charter airlines of the United States American companies established in 1990 American companies disestablished in 2017 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012